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Plenoptic Wavefront Sensing for Tactical Systems

Award Information

Agency:
Department of Defense 		Branch:
N/A 		Award ID:
 Program Year/Program:
2011 / SBIR
Agency Tracking Number:
N111-028-1155 		Solicitation Year:
2011 		Solicitation Topic Code:
N111-028 		Solicitation Number:
2011.1
Small Business Information
Nanohmics, Inc
6201 East Oltorf St. Suite 400 Austin, TX -
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Woman-Owned: No
Minority-Owned: No
HUBZone-Owned: No
 
Phase 1
Fiscal Year: 2011
Title: Plenoptic Wavefront Sensing for Tactical Systems
Agency: DOD
Contract: N68335-11-C-0301
Award Amount: $79,981.00
 

Abstract:

Wavefront sensors for adaptive-optics systems have traditionally been used in conditions where atmospheric turbulence is relatively weak and concentrated near the pupil of the optical system. Several generations of rotating radial grating, Shack-Hartmann, and modal wavefront sensors have been developed and fielded over the last several decades to compensate atmospheric turbulence. More recently, the need to perform adaptive optics compensation for strong and distributed turbulence has kindled interest in new wavefront sensor designs that must perform where the local rms wavefront gradients exceeds several wavelengths per subaperture. In addition, the wavefront sensors are expected to operate passively, using information from a complex scene to determine the refractive distortion. Nanohmics proposes to build, test, and demonstrate a new type of wavefront sensor that measures the four-dimensional light field. The design of the sensor is reminiscent of an extended-scene Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, but operates in a completely different manner that is suitable for the measurement of large wavefront gradients in an extended, passive scene, even in the presence of significant scintillation. The concept originates from previous work done in the area of plenoptic imaging, and parallels more recent work done with light-field photography and passive rangefinding.

Principal Investigator:

Byron Zollars
Chief Scientist
(512) 389-9990
bzollars@nanohmics.com

Business Contact:

Michael Mayo
President
(512) 389-9990
mmayo@nanohmics.com
Small Business Information at Submission:

Nanohmics, Inc
6201 East Oltorf St. Suite 400 Austin, TX -

EIN/Tax ID: 743072245
DUNS: N/A
Number of Employees:
Woman-Owned: No
Minority-Owned: No
HUBZone-Owned: No